Hurricanes Katrina and Rita — How to help
 

Red Cross volunteer

The lives and livelihoods of Gulf Coast residents – including UAW active and retired members – have been shattered by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Like all Americans, UAW members are heartbroken by the devastation and loss of life and we have once again stepped up to help in this time of crisis.

UAW Regional Directors are encouraging local unions to contact disaster relief agencies, such as United Way, Red Cross and the Salvation Army in their own communities to find out how they can best help. UAW local unions’ Community Services Committees are helping to spearhead efforts from gate collections to volunteering with the Red Cross and Salvation Army.

All of us want to help in whatever way we can. One way is to give to those non-profit organizations that have set up specific disaster relief programs.

To donate to the United Way, call 1-800-272-4630, or visit their web site.

To donate directly to the American Red Cross, call 1-800-HELP-NOW, or visit their web site.

To donate to the Salvation Army, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY, or visit their web site.


The UAW and United Way

UAW volunteers build wheelchair ramps in Detroit.

UAW volunteers build wheelchair ramps for disabled residents in Detroit.

When it comes to the communities in which they live and work, UAW members’ commitment to those in need runs deep.

For nearly 60 years, UAW men and women have helped provide solutions to our most pressing human problems through the United Way.

United Way agencies feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, support programs for our children, and provide access to education and health care.
Trying out her new ramp
.

As Ron Gettelfinger, UAW president and 2004 United Way chair for southeast Michigan, has said, “In these difficult economic times, many people are in need. Those of us who are in a position to help should do so by investing our time and money in the communities where we work and live.”

The best way to do that is to contribute to the United Way. It’s an investment that pays off in stronger communities.

For Our Children - The UAW and March of Dimes

Premature babies have many struggles to overcome. Thanks to the March of Dimes, preemies are winning those struggles more often. That’s why UAW President Ron Gettelfinger is serving again this year as honorary chair of Michigan’s March of Dimes WalkAmerica, to help raise funds to prevent birth defects and infant mortality. Most WalkAmerica events are held April 30 and May 1, 2005. Call (800) 525-WALK (national) or (800) BIG-WALK (Michigan) or log on to www.walkamerica.org to find out how and where you can help.

UAW joins ‘Quest for Life’ partnership

Improving lives, saving lives

The UAW along with DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company and General Motors, as well as Compuware Corporation, is joining with Michigan’s International Association of Organ Donation (IAOD) to form the Quest for Life Workplace Partnership Initiative on organ, tissue and bone marrow donation. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger made the announcement at the 6th Annual IAOD recognition banquet on April 21, 2005.

The Quest for Life partners will work to raise awareness about this important issue by increasing education and encouraging discussion about donation among union members, employees, retirees and their families.

More than 86,000 people in the United States are waiting for organ transplants. Each day 70 people receive an organ transplant but tragically another 16 people on the waiting list die because not enough organs are available.

The IAOD has added more than 7,000 names to the Michigan Organ and Tissue Registry since 1999. The UAW and its Quest for Life partners are fully committed to helping the IAOD add many more.

For additional information about how organ donations improve lives and save lives, visit www.iaod.org.

UAW members dig deep for those who need help

Local 1853 member Gail Bonaire at a fund-raiser for her brother who lives in Thailand.

The tsunami disaster that devastated southern Asia in late December 2004 was mind numbing in its destruction. The death toll numbers grew alarmingly on a daily basis. The UAW responded to the disaster in many ways. The International Executive Board made a donation of $500,000 on behalf of active and retired membership to Oxfam, a hunger and poverty relief organization. And members from locals across the country showed how much they cared by giving what they could to victims of the tsunami. But the number that means the most to UAW Local 1853 member Gail Bonaire is one — her brother. It was two days before Bonaire found out that her brother in Thailand, Pong Paripurana, was alive and safe.

But Paripurana lost his home and his business. Although he didn’t own the property, he ran a four-room guesthouse, a restaurant and an Internet cafe.

Bonaire, a 21-year UAW member, enlisted the help of her union family. She arranged a gate collection, a 50/50 raffle and called on local Thai restaurants, which donated food for a benefit lunch at the Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tenn. When it was all done, Local 1853 raised about $1,000 to help get Bonaire’s brother back on his feet.

“Everybody wants to go home and start their life again,” says Bonaire of the Thai survivors.
That was personal, but the UAW responded to the disaster in many ways. The International Executive Board made a donation of $500,000 on behalf of active and retired membership to Oxfam, a hunger and poverty relief organization.

And members from locals across the country showed how much they cared by giving what they could. Twenty members of Local 249 in Kansas City stood in 15-degree weather to collect donations during an ice storm that knocked out power for thousands. Other locals that held collections or made donations included Local 549 in Mansfield, Ohio; Local 1892 in Toledo, Ohio; Local 600 in Dearborn, Mich.; Local 2177 in Bensalem, Pa.; Local 387 in Woodhaven, Mich.; Local 2200 in Detroit, and Local 686 Unit 18 in Akron, N.Y. And those are just the locals we heard from.

Members from Locals 2500 in Detroit, 1781 in Southfield, Mich., and 863 in Cincinnati contributed to collections sponsored by the companies they work for.

With member donations, International Union contributions and company matches, UAW members generously raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for tsunami relief. Contributions went to Oxfam, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. The bottom line is that when someone is in need, no matter where, there are UAW members ready to help.

Larry Gabriel